I'm pretty curious here. Do you have canon proof for this, or is this simple conjecture? Note: this segment of your post is to be ignored in the debate if it's pure conjecture, since this is a discussion of canon, not fanon.

 

It's common sense. A rational conclusion drawn from partial canon evidence. If the charm were to not act in this way, and simply offer up an alternative - the dentists - and let the person decide which of the two were more important, then Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the QWC stadium...they all would have been discovered long ago, because in pretty much every situation a person would just decide to go to the dentists later. The charm has to effect rationality somehow, otherwise no-one would be effected by it.

Random thoughts pop into a persons head all the time. If I suddenly think, "Oh, I should go to the dentist" I'm not going to go. A simple feel of my teeth will tell me that I don't need to go. On top of that, you have to have an appointment in advance - you can't just show up - and so going straight to the dentist would be pointless.

In order for the charm to work at all - which we know it does - it has to make you ignore rational objections.

I think we're also forgetting that there are several different types of Muggle repelling charm. The one that makes you think you should be somewhere else is just one of them. There's also the ones like those on the Leaky Cauldron, where a Muggle simply is unable to look at the place, and the other one that we're told is on Hogwarts, which makes it look like a ruin. There's also the one from DH which the trio put on their campsite, "Muggletum Repello" with an unknown effect, but clearly worked.

1) Without a reason you have no argument. I presume that you're going to present the Wombat Test question, which is completely stupid, since we were never told the correct answer. In addition, the answer that you try to present as the correct one, thus saying that the Wizards hid from Muggle persecution, is circumstantial. It does not give a reason. It's perfectly possible that the wizards hid not because they were unable to fight back (which even you must admit is unlikely, considering the level of Muggle technology of the time), but because they were unwilling to commit genocide when there was a more peaceful option open to them.

2) In which case it would be magic beating magic, not Muggles beating magic, and so you would have conceded the debate. In addition, just as Muggles may be able to recruit Muggleborns, so too can Magicals recruit Muggles. They wouldn't even need to do that though - they could just take the Muggle technology for themselves.

3) Not every wizard needs to be James Bond. All you need is one powerful wizard, unopposed by other wizards, to take out a country - maybe even the world.

 

So it is just conjecture. Unfortunately, whether or not it is "common sense" or not is unimportant. You see, this debate is based on things that are purely canon. You simply cannot use that as an argument without canon proof that it is, in fact, the case.

Prior to typing up that previous post, I checked the Lexicon to see if they had proof - all I came up with is that the charm suggests that they're late to something. Surely, being late to an important appointment is a bigger deal than seeing some old structure. On that note, JKR probably didn't even consider vacationers. Maybe they were given the suggestion that they had promised a relative that they would be elsewhere - say, Big Ben - around that time?

Arthur Weasley knows quite a bit more about Muggles and Muggle technology than your average witch or wizard, and even he is way off. This argument is simply laughable. There is no way a witch or wizard could just "take Muggle technology for themselves," since they would have:

A) No idea how it works.
B) No idea what it does.

When it comes to Muggles and Muggle technology, the wizards are absolutely clueless, and not even Muggleborns, with their being in the Muggle world for three months out of the year, could make a difference. Hell, they probably never learn how important Muggle technology works, because of this. Telephone, TV, sure. Computer, maybe. Internet? I wonder...

Of course, that all is silly, anyways. Even if a Wizard could get his or her hands on Muggle technology, it would probably have to be battery powered. Is anything in the magical world run by electricity? If the answer to this is no, and it did come to Magic vs Muggle for some reason, the magical folk aren't going to get their hands on that key power source any time soon. Even if they did, the internet - which would probably be crucial in a Magic vs Muggle war - would be completely out of their hands.

 

You seem to be unaware of the definition of conjecture. I'll provide one for you:

the formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence for proof.

So we're not just talking about pure canon here. We're talking about canon, and what ideas can be inferred from it through reasoning. So common sense does come into it.

Very well. The charm is adaptive, if we use your Big Ben idea as an example. So you'll have no problem in accepting that the charm could make a soldier think that he's late for a mission he should be on elsewhere.

You're making this up. Arthur Weasley is a caricature. I would say that he knows less about Muggles that your average wizard. Yes, he's more interested than your average wizard, but also rather stupid. There are many wizards who know more about Muggles than him. Albus Dumbledore, for example, reads many Muggle newspapers. Whoever wrote the Daily Prophet article about Sirius Black - a rather average person, so more common that Dumbledore - knows what a gun is.

 

Canon never states that the charm makes the suggestion to be of top priority. Therefore, your suggestion is a theory without sufficient evidence for proof - conjecture.

You're right, we're not arguing pure canon, but suggesting that the muggle repelling charm has that effect without proof is a bit of a stretch. It makes more sense that the charm is adaptive.

The soldier has it drilled into his mind that his mission is of top priority. There is nothing more important to the soldier than completing that mission that places him in place for the Muggle repellent to take effect. There is no reason for the charm to be capable of repelling him, then, since his top priority is getting in there. That is, of course, unless you either:

A) Give the charm powers like your "common sense" dictates, or
B) Can come up with something more important than something drilled into your skull as "Top Priority."

Fair enough. However, that does not deny the second part of that argument. Do wizards have electricity? Can they get it in a time of conflict with the Muggles? Even then, would it be possible for them to get the internet, and figure out how it works? Would they be able to figure out how other important Muggle technology works?

 

They are able to get electrical devices to work on magic. E.g. cameras.

Go into a house and use the electricity there?

I was never taught how to use the internet, nor how to use a computer. I just figured it out. It's not that hard (especially with Muggleborns).

 

Cameras are battery powered, but regardless, I'll let this one go, because you're absolutely right.

What house? One occupied by the enemy? One that's completely unoccupied - and thus probably doesn't have electricity anymore?

You were raised with technology. Most wizards aren't. Though, your point with Muggleborns is valid. Even then, they can still only access tools that are common household tools for Muggles...and some vehicles, as the flying car and flying motorcycle suggest. Can they take important Muggle technology? Even if they can get their hands on it, will they be able to figure out how it works?

 

Yes, the houses occupied by the enemy. There's quite a few million of them.

Imperius, legilimency, apparition, confundment charms...and so on. Magic, in other words.

Whether or not they'd be able to work it depends I suppose on the complexity of the technology involved. Most technology has some sort of user interface that would make things simpler. But even if they couldn't work it, they could always just force some Muggles to work it for them.

I think we're focusing a bit too much on the Muggle tech idea. It's just one part of the greater argument, and a part I raised simply to illustrate the idea mentioned previously:

Muggles = Muggles

Wizards = Muggles + Magic

 

I agree. The only other difference between Muggles and Wizards is all culture based. And, really, if you look back into the topic, I've long since given up on trying to argue that the Muggles could stand a chance (since it's ultimately pointless) in such a conflict.

 

Magic is teh WIN!

 

You can make a skepticam argument that muggles would win.

1. If wizards would beat muggles, then they would be capable of enslaving or killing them all.
2. Wizards would want to enslave or kill all muggles, due to, especially in the past, having an elite that viewed them as little more than cockroaches.
3. Yet, they didn't do it, they went into hiding instead.
4. Therefore, muggles would be capable of beating wizards, even if the reason isn't apparent at first.

 

But we can also assume that there were much more wizards that didn't want to kill/enslave Muggles. If wizards had started a war, some of them would have sided with Muggles.

 

Can we? That is doubtful even at the narrated times, where even supposed "light" people like Fudge are disdainful of Muggles and look down on Arthur Weasley for being interested in them; indeed, even Weasley himself speaks of them condescendingly. I'm sure it was much worse on past times.

 

Yes. There are very few Purebloods, even 400 years ago.

 

I think that JKR has said that 40% of wizards are pureblood (i.e. have wizarding parents and grandparents) while another 40% are half-blood and the rest 20% are Muggleborn. 400 years ago there were bound to be less half-bloods and Muggleborns and quite possibly even more purebloods.

But anyway, I still think that vast majority of purebloods did/do not want to kill/enslave muggles - they don't want anything to do with them.

 

Actually, she's said that there are no real Purebloods left (the definition of a Pureblood is one that has no Muggles or Squibs in their family tree - even the Blacks and Malfoys aren't actually pureblooded).

The ideal of Pureblood is a political position rather than actually about blood. For example, though the Blacks and Malfoys technically aren't Pureblood, they uphold that political ideal, as shown by the fact that they disinherit Squibs and Muggle-lovers.

And as a political movement it is one that is forwarded by a few powerful people at the fringes of society. Pureblood is the BNP of the Wizarding World.

 

Well, it might be that I'm wrong, but I do distinctly remember reading an interview in which she said that being a pureblood means that your parents and grandparents are all magical. Said it was like the system that nazis used (i.e. one jew grandparent was enough to 'pollute' blood).

 

I do not quite understand how one is not pureblood if there Aunt marries a muggle and has a hundred kids. The muggle blood is not in your blood or any of your descendents blood, makes absolutetly no sense. I think pureblood would, and should mean that everything in your direct line, grandparents, parents, great grandparents, etc is a born wizard or witch. Which would cause much inbreeding because of the very few left. but, even then, I'm sure some who claim to be pureblooded are not, for a great great grandmother had an afair with a ferret.

If J.K Rowling actually said this, its one of the few things that I am actually willing to ignore and substitue someones elses better theory of what a pureblood is.

 

Because as I said above, Pureblood is not actually about blood or biology. It's a conservative political movement.

 

I very much doubt that Wizards would want to kill all muggles. Wizards themselves are human and it seems unlikely that they would exterminate all muggles just for the sake of killing. As for enslavement, why ever would they want a common muggle as a source of labor, when they already have house elves which are much more efficient at working as they are able to use magic?